Free! Revolutionary War Audio Lesson | The Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts

This is lesson is E01 within the Revolutionary War Audio Stories. These are curriculum-style audio mini-lessons built for real classrooms with ready-to-use assessments that line up with social studies standards. Press play, then discuss or assign the flexible worksheet & assessments—no extra prep.

This stand-alone episode, “The Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts,” takes students to Boston, 1773–1774. They hear how the Tea Act’s unfair monopoly and hidden tax pushed colonists toward protest, how the nighttime tea-dumping became a symbol of resistance, and how Britain’s harsh Intolerable Acts backfired by uniting the colonies on the path toward independence.

Perfect for elementary social studies, listening centers, morning meeting, sub plans, early finishers, or intervention/ELL—with built-in vocabulary, discussion prompts, and multiple ways to show understanding.

• Historical Focus: The Tea Act’s monopoly, the Boston Tea Party protest, and Britain’s response with the Intolerable Acts.
• Key Figures: Samuel Adams | John Hancock | Paul Revere | Governor Thomas Hutchinson | King George III
• Big Idea: Unfair control and punishment deepened unrest in the colonies, uniting patriots to stand together for self-government.

What’s included

• Episode 1 — The Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts (MP3, ~15 minutes)
• Teacher’s Guide and Answer Key(PDF/DOCX)
• CCSS Alignment Section for Grade 5, 6 and CCRA
• Themes & Discussion Prompts: 5 open-ended themes designed for whole-class or small-group talk
• One-Page Graphic Organizer (Cause & Effect
• Vocabulary (5): Monopoly | Vassal | Boycott | Unrest | Patriots
• Short Answer Questions (1–5): focused on recall and basic reasoning
• Challenge Questions (6–12): focused on Application scenario, Inference, Creative response, Historical connection, Civic/modern connection
• 20 Question Multiple-Choice Self-Graded Exit Quiz

What makes Revolutionary War Audio Stories different?

• Short on time, big on thinking. A complete social studies mini-lesson in about 15 minutes of audio, with everything built around one clear historical moment.
• Designed for listening stations and full-class use. Calm pacing, clear vocabulary, and printable supports that work whether you play it whole-class or at a single Chromebook station.
• Flexible assessments, one topic at a time. From verbal discussion to organized notes, from short answers to multiple-choice, you can scale rigor up or down without rewriting materials.
• Offline-friendly. Load the MP3 to an old phone, tablet, or computer and use it even if Wi-Fi is unreliable.

Classroom use ideas

Whole-Class Lesson:

• Press play during social studies, pause at key moments to ask, “What would you do?”
• Use the Main Ideas & Themes questions to get hands in the air.
• Have students complete the graphic organizer and worksheet individually or in pairs.

Listening Center / Stations:

• One device + headphones + worksheet = an independent history station.
• Great for early finishers or small-group rotations.

Make-Up Lesson / Home Learning:

• Send the audio and worksheet home for students who missed the Boston Tea Party lesson.
• They can listen once, fill in the organizer and questions, and come back caught up.

What to Expect

• Fits real schedules – Use in a single class period, during morning meeting, as a station, or as a ready-made sub plan.
• Micro-lesson design – One episode, one big historical moment, clearly explained with built-in vocabulary.
• Easy to use – Audio, Teacher’s Guide, discussion prompts, graphic organizer, short-answer and challenge questions, and a 20-question MC quiz are all aligned.
• Differentiated assessment – Verbal (discussion), visual (graphic organizer), written (short answer & challenge), and recognition-based (MC quiz).
• No internet required – Download once; play anywhere.

If you’re looking for an elementary-friendly way to teach the Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts, this Revolutionary War Stories — Episode 1: The Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts bundle gives you a complete, offline-ready mini-lesson: a 15-minute narrative audio, 5 targeted vocabulary words, rich discussion prompts, a cause-and-effect organizer, short-answer and challenge questions, and a self-grading quiz. Students not only learn what happened in Boston—they also think about fairness, protest, and how people work together for change.